If you spend any time at high school sporting events (or did when you were in high school), the odds are pretty good that you have heard a particular call-and-response cheer from rival fans.
First, one group of fans yells: We’ve got spirit. Yes, we do! We’ve got spirit. How ’bout you?
Then, the opposing group of fans, having been asked this important question, responds: We’ve got spirit. Yes, we do! We’ve got spirit. How ’bout you?
The question, having been turned around on the fans of the first team, said fans shout the chant right back at the fans of the second team. The shouting back and forth tends to increase in volume as more and more fans of each team realize they should be a part of this important ritual. At some point, everyone will be distracted by the game again, and the shouting peters out.
This blog is not the sports pages, of course, but the question those excited fans shout at one another can also be relevant to your mental well-being. So, once more, at the top of our lungs:
We’ve got spirit. Yes, we do! We’ve got spirit. How ’bout you?
Defining Our Terms
Our subject here is spirituality and its connection to good mental health. It is possible that when you read the word “spirituality,” your mind immediately connects it to the word “religion.”
While the two ideas have some overlap, they are not synonymous. There are many, many religions—which might be defined as systems of beliefs and practices centered around a god or gods—and most major religions also encompass many different sects or branches, some of which might have conflicting approaches or ideas about the religion itself.
When we refer to “spirituality,” we are not talking solely about religion. Instead, think of spirituality as any approach to making meaning in your life. Your personal religious practice would certainly count as spirituality, but religious belief is not a required element of spirituality.
Let’s take a closer look at how you might approach meaning-making.
Making Meaning Can Mean Many Things
Spirituality encourages us to turn our attention outward rather than inward. When you approach life with a spiritual mindset, you may discover that you forge deeper relationships, find more beauty in the natural world or in the arts (or both), and are eager to find a way to contribute to the greater good.
That focus on relationships, beauty, and the great good provides a kind of counterbalance to the symptoms of mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and other issues. A mental health challenge often causes a person to turn inward. As your focus narrows to your own difficulties, it can become harder and harder to see anything good in your life or to make an effort to make a difference for others. A spiritual outlook can help you refocus on the things you find important and meaningful—and that can reduce the severity of the mental health disorder symptoms that rise up to challenge you.
Try to always keep in mind that even when the symptoms of a disorder like depression might be telling you that nothing much matters in your life, the hopefulness of a healthy spirituality can remind you that life is full of people, moments, ideas, and causes that are wonderful and meaningful.
Spirituality Is Not a Replacement for Mental Health Care
We want to be clear that we do not mean to suggest that an outlook built around spirituality is a cure-all for mental health challenges. The idea that if you are spiritual enough (or, as it is often phrased, if you are religious enough), you will not experience mental health difficulties is both wrong and dangerous.
We encourage you to think of spirituality as one of the many tools at your disposal for building up your mental health. Just as healthy eating, regular exercise, and restful sleep support your mental health, so too does an approach to life that is expansive rather than focused inward.
Just as you would not think of, say, healthful eating as a substitute for therapy and mental health medications, you should not think of spirituality as a stand-in for those key parts of your healthcare.
We’ve Got Expertise and Empathy. Yes, We Do!
Okay, so that header would make a lousy chant at an athletic contest. Nevertheless, it is entirely true. At Peak View Behavioral Health, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, we provide personalized treatment for a variety of mental health disorders. That treatment is grounded in evidence-based practices and informed by our high levels of expertise, years of experience, and spirit of empathy.
If you are struggling with one of the various kinds of depression, a panic or anxiety disorder, or an issue that arose from traumatic experiences, it might be tempting to hunker down and try to deal with it on your own. But as we have argued in this post, that inward focus tends not to serve you well when you are experiencing the symptoms of a mental health disorder. Instead, get the help you need at Peak View Behavioral Health.
